There was a solid trade for all classes of sheep at Monday’s sheep sale in Raphoe Mart, with the recent upturn in weather boosting demand for ewe hoggets with breeding potential and ewes with lambs at foot.

Mart manager Ann Harkin also reported that a seasonal decline in hogget entries inserted more life into the trade for lambs, with numbers slow to build.

A few pens of heavier lambs weighing 48kg to 50kg sold from €216 to €224, with lambs weighing 45kg to 46kg selling in the main from €210 to €216.

Some lighter but quality lots weighing around the 40kg mark sold for €190, with a couple of pens of 37.5kg lambs selling from €171 to €178 per head.

There was a firm trade for ewe hoggets with breeding potential, with farmers competing with factory agents.

A good run of crossbred hoggets weighing 50kg to 52kg sold from €216 to €219, with some heavier hoggets weighing 55kg to 57kg selling up to €229 per head.

Hoggets weighing 46kg to 48kg sold from €193 to €205, while store hoggets weighing 39kg to 42kg sold from €170 to €187, depending on quality.

Ewes with twin lambs at foot sold in the main from €290 to €345 for younger ewes and a top of €390 for hoggets.

Standout price

Aged ewes and Scottish Blackface types sold back to €220. Likewise, ewes with a single lamb sold from €155 to €190 for broken-mouth and horned ewes to €255 for younger types, while a standout price was €315 paid for yearling hoggets with quality lambs at foot.

Cull ewes have been a firm trade for several weeks, with relatively tight supplies and keen demand maintaining a strong floor under the trade.

The majority of fleshed ewes sold in the main from €2.35/kg to €2.60/kg.

A couple of pens of lighter and younger ewes weighing around 55kg to 65kg sold to as high as €3/kg.

At the other end of the quality spectrum very few ewes sold below a price of €2/kg.

The standout price was €290 paid for large-framed ewes weighing 112.5kg.

There will be no sheep sale in Raphoe Mart on Monday 4 May due to the public holiday. Sales will resume as normal on Monday 11 May. See more photos at www.farmersjournal.ie.

In pictures

These nine Suffolk-cross and Texel-cross lambs weighing 49.4kg sold for €220 (€4.45/kg).

This batch of five good-quality lambs weighing 46kg sold for €216 (€4.70/kg).

At an average weight of 40kg, these Suffolk-cross lambs sold for €190 each (€4.75/kg).

This pair of horned crossbred hoggets weighing 57.5kg sold for €228 each (€3.97/kg).

This batch of six well-fleshed ewe hoggets weighing 50.8kg sold for €219 (€4.31/kg).

These Blue Texel-cross ewe lambs weighing 41.7kg on average sold for €187 (€4.48/kg).

This pair of large-framed cull ewes weighing 112.5kg sold for €290 (€2.58/kg).

These three small-framed Texel ewes weighing 63.3kg sold for €144 (€2.27/kg).

Two quality first-crop ewes with twin Texel-sired lambs at foot sold for €390 per unit.

This four-year-old Bluefaced Leicester-cross ewe and two young lambs at foot sold for €315.

This batch of four Texel-cross and Suffolk-cross hoggets with a single lamb at foot sold for €315 per unit.

These five smaller-framed crossbred stores weighing 42kg sold for €173 (€4.12/kg).

These Dutch Spotted lambs weighing 45kg sold for €210 each (€4.67/kg).

This pair of Dutch spotted lambs weighing 50kg sold for €216 (€4.32/kg).

These store hoggets weighing 42kg sold for €175 each (€4.17/kg).

This batch of nine lighter lambs weighing 40.6kg sold for €190 (€4.68/kg).

This Charollais lamb weighing 45kg sold for €210 (€4.67/kg).

This 45kg lambs sold for €206 (€4.58/kg).

With an average weight of 44.7kg, these ewe hoggets sold for €187 (€4.18/kg).

These three black-fleeced ewe hoggets weighing 45kg sold for €203 each (€4.51/kg).

This two-year-old Suffolk-cross ewe weighing 70kg sold for €196 (€2.80/kg).

This batch of light crossbred hoggets weighing 37.5kg sold for €161 each (€4.29/kg).

This fleshed cull ewe weighing 70kg sold for €174 (€2.49/kg).

Weighing 70kg, this Suffolk ewe sold for €162 (€2.31/kg).

This Suffolk hogget and her two young and small-framed lambs sold for €290.

This first crop ewe with two good lambs at foot sold for €345.

With an average weighing of 4.7kg, these crossbred ewe hoggets sold for €176 (€4.22/kg).